“However, we come to one of the highlights of the evening – The Queen of the Night, by Czech coloratura soprano Lucie Kaňková. The aria O zittre nicht, mein lieber Sohn was sung and although it remains in the shadow of the second, more popular Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen, the first performance of Queen of the Night definitely brought, in addition to the high positions, beautiful, sensitive lyrical parts performed by Kaňková: in a slow tempo, she was able to precisely link the notes, with pure intonation, and elaborate dynamics. However, what was obvious at first glance – this was exemplary Mozartian singing. Balanced, without bel canto tone, phrasing and expression, without that exceptionally voluminous tone that simply has no place in Mozart. The soprano showed vocal flexibility, a sense of lyrical but also dramatic expression and confidence in the highs.”
“The second aria Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen performed by Lucie Kaňková has a different character, which the singer underlined with a dramatic performance. Her flawless, pure coloratura, staccato figures with the culminating tone f3 had not only the necessary ecstatic expression, sung in her performance with absolute precision and ease, but also the necessary, correct phrasing, without the slightest error in the interruption of phrases. Moreover – in this case too, when rehearsing the work, conductor Kattah allowed himself to improvise and with the singer left f3 (contrary to the score) as a long tone, which is a huge risk, because on the one hand there is a risk that it will not turn out as aesthetically beautiful, it will sound sharp, on the other hand it may have an intonation effect on the other tones making up the phrase. And there is of course another risk: how can the audience accept such a notorious aria, in which everyone knows every single tone? And in this case it is really not just about the high notes. Singing the Queen of the Night is like top-level sport. You can hear every single note in the aria – there is no lie, it must sound pure, dramatic, no portamento is allowed. However, Lucie Kaňková managed it brilliantly and the audience rewarded her accordingly.”
Zuzana Vachová
Foto: Joseph Marčinský
Moja kultúra, 23.2.2023
